# Event Details - **Event Name**: Upstream Democracy: Beauty, Belonging, and Civic Repair - **Event Start and End Date**: Thu, 09 Apr, 2026 at 06:30 pm – Thu, 09 Apr, 2026 at 08:30 pm (-04:00) - **Event Description**: A Rutgers Salon on Culture, Community, and Democratic RenewalAbout this EventUpstream Democracy: Beauty, Belonging, and Civic Repair is a flagship public salon examining how the arts, culture, and aesthetic experience strengthen the upstream conditions of a healthy democratic society: belonging, civic trust, social connection, and collective well-being.Visit the for additional details.Seating is limited, please register in advance.Featured SpeakersChristina Lessa — Cultural strategist and civic entrepreneur; Founder, Blueprints for Arts and Policy; CEO, Art Vue WorldwideSaladin Ambar — Professor of Political Science and Senior Scholar, Eagleton Center on the American Governor, Rutgers University; author and scholar of American political thought, race, and democracyAndrew Binger — Program Officer, Community Partnerships, New Jersey State Council on the ArtsLucas Johnson — Organizer, writer, and public theologian rooted in the Black freedom struggle; former leader of On Being; advisor to the Dorothy Cotton Institute and board member of Waging NonviolenceMatthew Steinfeld, PhD — Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine; clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, and scholar of the psychodynamics of music-makingChristina Bouey — Violinist, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers UniversityModerated by Ian Koebner — Inaugural Chair and Endowed Associate Professor of Arts in Health, Rutgers UniversityThe salon brings together international, national, state, community, and clinical perspectives on civic health, exploring how cultural strategies—and the psychological dimensions of aesthetic experience—function as civic infrastructure capable of renewing the upstream foundations of democratic life.This event will serve as the launch of the Arts in Health Salon Series and anchor MGSA’s participation in Solving Grand Challenges Month by addressing a foundational democratic crisis: the erosion of civic belonging and the fraying of social cohesion. The answer to our broken politics is not merely more politics, but attending to the cultural, psychological, and relational foundations that make democracy possible.This event is a Solving Grand Challenges Month event, in partnership with the Rutgers Democracy Lab at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.Image: Zimmerli Art Museum galleries. Photo McKay Imaging Photography. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/new-brunswick/upstream-democracy-beauty-belonging-and-civic-repair/100001985059575627 - **Event Categories**: Art, health-wellness, Nonprofit, literary-art, Business, Sports - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: New Brunswick - **state**: NJ - **country**: United States - **location**: Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University - **lat**: 40.49975930000001 - **long**: -74.4452789 - **full address**: Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Upstream Democracy: Beauty, Belonging, and Civic Repair - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events5/banners/40c362c5d76aa1c1c265bfb8e03e6d11d70fdc4f07440e99907cc601d78256d0-rimg-w1200-h800-dc492d18-gmir.jpg?v=1773869473 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Upstream Democracy: Beauty, Belonging, and Civic Repair being held? - **A:** Upstream Democracy: Beauty, Belonging, and Civic Repair takes place on Thu, 09 Apr, 2026 at 06:30 pm to Thu, 09 Apr, 2026 at 08:30 pm at Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing Upstream Democracy: Beauty, Belonging, and Civic Repair? - **A:** Upstream Democracy: Beauty, Belonging, and Civic Repair is organized by Zimmerli Art Museum. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Upstream Democracy: Beauty, Belonging, and Civic Repair is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in New Brunswick, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. 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